Summer Invitational B Regatta at CMRC overall

by Laura Muma on 22 Jul 2013 Summer Invitational B regatta 2013 was held at Chicago Match Race Centre. With a new crew of Stephanie Roble and sister Jennifer Wilson joining Sally Barkow and Sam Rogers from Summer Invitational A regatta, Chicago-based Don Wilson has today also won the Summer Invitational B regatta, another ISAF Grade three event. Wilson's come-from-behind effort was in contrast to the dominance displayed in the Summer A event raced last Thursday and Friday among a field of ten teams from the USA, Bermuda and Sweden.

Wilson's path to victory started in this morning's very light easterlies, which when accompanied by lumpy seas made for trying conditions in the remaining two and a half flights of the Round Robin. In this stage another CMRC local, Steve Lowery, kept up his winning ways from yesterday by emerging at the top of the pack on an undefeated 9 win score.

With just a few minutes left for the Organizing Authority to make the decision on whether to continue on the intended format or skip the Quarter Finals to go to the Semi's, a line of breeze filled in to allow a first-to-two point stage in which Wilson's five wins was good enough to make the cut.

The seven-eight knots in this stage was a relief from the earlier flukiness, so the racing got much more interesting. Wilson dispensed with his opponent Peter Holz in two matches, as did Lance Fraser with Brendan Kopp, and David Storrs with David Niemann. But in a huge upset, undefeated Steve Lowery fell to Magnus Sandberg in two penalty-strewn matches where the calls did not go Lowery's way.

Wilson then faced Fraser and dispensed with the Bermudians in two straight matches when he got the starts he wanted and simply stretched on early leads, and and Storrs fell to Sandburg in two straight matches as well, in part for a mis-timed start in one match.

In the first-to-two-point Final, Wilson and his team were then in perfect sync, and despite losing a pre-start to Sandburg in the second match they were able to draw a penalty on the Swede, who led the match's first lap but with an outstanding penalty to perform. By staying close and with good speed after exiting the bottom mark, Wilson managed to get 'a piece of' Sandburg when he came out of his penalty turn on the second beat, forcing him to tack away, and thereby gain control of the match and sail on to victory.

By winning the combined Summer A and Summer B events, Wilson would have received an invitation to race in the first and last stops on the US Grade two Grand Slam Series in August and September.

But with Wilson unable to attend due to prior commitments, the opportunity passes on instead to the runner-up, and for having finished fourth in the Summer A and third in the Summer B David Storrs will receive these invitations to race in Chicago over August 16-18 and at the Oakcliff Sailing Center over September four-eight in Oyster Bay, NY.

For more information on the US Grand Slam series, visit the event website